Boiler grants: what you can actually get

There are grants. Most people asking about them don't qualify, and a lot of what you'll read online is written by companies who make money from the ones that do. Here's the plain version.

ECO4

The Energy Company Obligation. Energy suppliers are required to fund efficiency improvements for low-income and vulnerable households. It can cover a boiler replacement in full.

You generally need to be on qualifying benefits, and your home usually needs a poor energy rating. Your energy supplier is the place to start, not a company that's cold-called you about it.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Worth understanding because the name misleads people. It does not pay for a new gas boiler. It pays towards a heat pump or a biomass boiler, as a grant of several thousand pounds.

If you're replacing gas with gas, this scheme is not for you.

Be careful who you talk to

Boiler grants attract a lot of cowboys, because the funding is real and the paperwork is confusing. Nobody legitimate will cold-call you about a grant, and nobody legitimate needs your bank details to check eligibility.

Check with your own energy supplier, or GOV.UK, and go from there.

If you don't qualify

Most people don't, and that's the ordinary outcome. Compare quotes, look at finance if you need to spread it, and get the most efficient boiler you can afford. The savings on your bills are the grant.